Far right in the United Kingdom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Far right political groups have been in existence in the United Kingdom since the end of World War II, though earlier antecedents can be discerned in the fascist and anti-Jewish movements of the 1930s. It went on to acquire more explicitly racial connotations, being controlled in the 1960s and 1970s by self-proclaimed White nationalist individuals and organisations that oppose non-white and Muslim immigration and multiculturalism, such as the British National Party (BNP) and the National Front (NF). Since the 1980s, the term has mainly been used to express the wish of such groups to preserve what they perceive to be British culture, and to campaign actively against the presence of non-indigenous ethnic minorities and what they perceive to be an excessive number of asylum seekers.

Contents 1 Far right in UK politics 2 History 2.1 Post-War and the decline of Empire 2.2 1960s-1980s - The National Front and anti-immigration 2.3 1990s and 2000s 3 Influential figures in British Far Right 4 References 5 Further reading

[edit] Far right in UK politics

The White nationalist National Front and the British National Party have been strongly opposed to non-white immigration. They have encouraged the repatriation of ethnic minorities: the NF favours compulsory repatriation, while the BNP favours voluntary repatriation, and in the past they have been associated, as the BNP was until the 1990s, with race riots and violent street politics^{[citation needed]}. They have never achieved representation in the House of Commons, although they have had a number of local councillors in some inner-city areas of East London and one or two small towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire, such as Burnley and Keighley. East London had provided the bedrock of far-right support as long ago as the 1930s, whereas BNP success, such as it is, in the north of England is a newer phenomenon. The only other part of the country to provide any significant level of support for such views, now or in the past, is the West Midlands.

[edit] History

[edit] Post-War and the decline of Empire

The British Nationalist movement rose out of the dying embers of the British fascist movement. Although leader Oswald Mosley actually went on to form a pro-European party, a number of members of the British Union of Fascists, which had been banned during World War II, became members of parties attempting to defend the British Empire.

The Empire had begun to break down as nationalist movements rose in the early 20th century, though this had largely been resisted in the UK. After 1945, pressure from the United Nations and the United States, together with the financial costs incurred by the war, led to a general acceptance that the empire was economically unsustainable, and needed to be disbanded. This occurred over a thirty-year period, with the larger territories and Dominions being first to gain independence in the late 1940s - India in 1947 as an example.

The League of Empire Loyalists was the main group to develop in this era. Founded by A. K. Chesterton in 1954, it was a pressure group rather than a political party, and refused to contest elections. The majority of its members were part of the Conservative Party, and they were known for their politically embarrassing stunts at party conferences. J. R. R. Tolkien is claimed on the flimsiest evidence to have been a supporter ^[1], despite his expressed dislike of "Britain", the British Empire and especially apartheid (see Tolkien's letters passim). It has been argued that the majority of this group were more 'Colonel Blimpish' traditionalists, rather than fascists. However, its more extreme elements wanted to make the group more political.

This led to a number of splinter groups forming, including the White Defence League and the National Labour Party. These both stood in local elections in 1958, and merged in 1960 to form the British National Party.

[edit] 1960s-1980s - The National Front and anti-immigration

With the decline of the British Empire becoming inevitable, the explicitly British-Nationalist parties turned their attention to internal matters. The 1950s had seen a lot of immigration to the UK from its former colonies, particularly from India, Pakistan, the Caribbean and Uganda. Led by John Bean and Andrew Fountaine, the British National Party opposed the admittance of these people to the UK. A number of its rallies, such as a 1962 rally in Trafalgar Square, London, ended in race riots. After a few early successes, the party got into difficulties and was destroyed by internal arguments. In 1967 it joined forces with John Tyndall and the remnants of Chesterton's League of Empire Loyalists to form the National Front at another violent rally.

The NF quickly grew to be the biggest explicitly British-Nationalist party in the UK. It polled 44% in a local election in Deptford, London and finished third in three by-elections, though these results were completely untypical of the country as a whole. The party supported extreme unionism in Northern Ireland, and attracted Conservative members who had become disillusioned after Harold Macmillan had recognised the right to independence of the African colonies, and had criticized Apartheid ^[2] in South Africa. During the 1970s the NF's violent rallies became a regular feature of British politics. Election results remained strong in a few working-class urban areas, with a number of local council seats won, but the party never came anywhere near winning representation in Parliament.

Other political groups also developed to support British Nationalism. The Conservative Monday Club was a ginger-group within the Conservative Party whose aim was 'to safeguard the liberty of the subject and integrity of the family in accordance with the customs, traditions, and character of the British people'. Again, this meant a general opposition to post-colonial states, and to immigration and immigrant communities in the UK, as well as support for the hard-line unionism in Northern Ireland. The Monday Club also gave strong support to Apartheid in South Africa and to Ian Smith's illegal declaration of independence in Rhodesia.

However, mainstream Conservatism under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who moved the party sharply to the right, and possibly in particular because she talked openly and sympathetically about the indigenous people's fears of being "swamped" by immigrant cultures, recovered the support of many of these people. No doubt as a result, support for the smaller far-right groups declined. They maintained anti-immigration policies, the Monday Group calling for an end to race relations laws in 1981. There was a move, however, towards a more inclusionist vision of the UK, and to opposition towards the European Union. The National Front, for example, began to support non-white radicals such as Louis Farrakhan. This led to the splintering of the various groups, with radical political soldiers such as a young Nick Griffin forming the Third Way group, and traditionalists creating the Flag Group. Membership of the Monday Club, meanwhile, fell to under 600 by 1987.

[edit] 1990s and 2000s

The New National Front had been formed by John Tyndall in 1980, and changed its name to the British National Party in 1982. They, alongside the Monday Club, campaigned against the increasing integration of the UK into the European Union. They developed a policy of eschewing the traditional nationalist methods of extra-parliamentary movements, and concentrated instead on the ballot box.

The National Front continued to decline, whilst the BNP, led by Nick Griffin, grew in popularity. Around the turn of the 21st century, a number of councillors were won. However, policies of anti-immigration continued,^[3] and a damaging BBC documentary led to Griffin being charged with incitement to racial hatred (although he was found innocent).^[4] The 2006 local elections brought the BNP the most successful results of any far-right party in British history. They gained 33 council seats, the second highest gain of any party at the elections; in Barking and Dagenham, they gained twelve councillors. Once again, however, their success was geographically concentrated into a small number of areas. In the 2008 local elections the party won a record 100 councillors and a seat on the Greater London Assembly, the biggest gains the party has had so far. In June 2009, the BNP gained two MEPs.

[edit] Influential figures in British Far Right

• A. K. Chesterton
• John Bean
• Andrew Fountaine
• Nick Griffin
• John Tyndall
• Martin Webster
• Oswald Mosley

[edit] References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

[edit] Further reading

• A history of fascism in the UK
• The Phora: British Nationalism Forum

v • d • e Far right in the United Kingdom Pre-1945 political parties and groups British Brothers League · British Fascists · British People's Party · British Union of Fascists · The Britons · Britons Publishing Society · English National Association · Imperial Fascist League · The Link · National Fascisti · National Socialist League · Nordic League Defunct post-1945 political parties and groups British Democratic Party · British Empire Party · British Movement · British National Party · Column 88 · Constitutional Movement · Flag Group · Greater Britain Movement · League of Empire Loyalists · National Democratic Party · National Fellowship · National Independence Party · National Labour Party · National Party · National Socialist Action Party · National Socialist Movement · New Nationalist Party · Official National Front · One Nation · Patriotic Party · Racial Preservation Society · Union Movement · White Defence League · White Nationalist Party Active political parties and groups Blood and Honour · British National Party · British People's Party · Combat 18 · England First Party · Freedom Party · International Third Position · League of Saint George · National Democrats · National Front · National Socialist Movement · Nationalist Alliance · New Britain Party · Northern League · November 9th Society · Racial Volunteer Force · Springbok Club Pre-1945 people John Amery · A.F.X. Baron · Henry Hamilton Beamish · John Beckett · Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford · Noel Pemberton Billing · John Henry Clarke · Roy Courlander · Barry Domvile · William Evans-Gordon · Robert Forgan · Neil Francis Hawkins · J.F.C. Fuller · William Joyce · Arnold Leese · Rotha Lintorn-Orman · Diana Mitford · Unity Mitford · Lady Cynthia Mosley · Sir Oswald Mosley · Alexander Raven Thomson · Nesta H. Webster · Henry Williamson Post-1945 people Ian Anderson · Richard Barnbrook · John Bean · Jane, Lady Birdwood · Andrew Brons · A.K. Chesterton · Mark Collett · David Copeland · Mark Cotterill · Nicky Crane · Sharon Ebanks · Richard Edmonds · Andrew Fountaine · Nick Griffin · Jeffrey Hamm · Anthony Hancock · Alan Harvey · Ray Hill · Derek Holland · Colin Jordan · Arthur Kemp · John Kingsley Read · Richard Lawson · Michael McLaughlin · Eddy Morrison · Abdul-Aziz ibn Myatt · John O'Brien · Denis Pirie · Kevin Quinn · Anthony Reed Herbert · Robert Relf · Charlie Sargent · Simon Sheppard · Ian Stuart Donaldson · Keith Thompson · John Tyndall · Richard Verrall · Martin Webster · Martin Wingfield · John Graeme Wood Related articles Anglo-German Fellowship · Battle of Cable Street · British National Front election results · British National Party election results · Europe a Nation · List of British fascist parties · National Party of Europe · Political Soldier · Spearhead · World Union of National Socialists